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SWP 24/93 TRAINING FOR ENTREPRENEURS: INTERNATIONAL

PERSPECTIVES ON THE DESIGN OF ENTERPRISE

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

DR JOHN HAILEY Enterprise Development Centre

Cranfield School of Management

The Cratflcld School of Management Working Papers Series has been running since 1987, wirh approximarely 350 papers so far from the eight acadetnic groups of the School: Economics; Enretprise; Finance and Accounting; Humat Resources; It~ormation Systems; Marketing and Logistics; Operations Management; and Strategic Management. Since 1992, papers have been reviewed by senior members of

faculty before acceptance into the Series. A list since 1991 is included at rhe back of this paper.

For copies of papers (up to three free, then X2 per copy, cheques to be made payable to the Cranfield School of Matragettrent), pletlse cotttacI Mrs Val Singh, Research Administraror, at the above address.

Copyright: Hailey, 1993

ISBN 1 85905 028 X

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Entrepreneurs and small businesses are an integral part of economic d&eld~m&t~ Y In the last twenty years efforts to promote entrepreneurs, and the small business se&in general, have resulted in the creation of a range of small business 6aining courq$/or enterprise development programmes. But as this article suggests .$here is’no universally accepted model, and different institutions including universities, technical colleges and enterprise agencies provide a variety of entrepreneurship or small business training courses. These programmes are designed to motivate potential entrepreneurs, raise awareness of entrepreneurship generally, and help promote an entrepreneurial culture. Other programmes try to remove barriers and constraints to business success by providing managerial and technical skills, and helping entrepreneurs prepare a viable business plan.

1. INTRODUCTION

With the recognition of the important role of entrepreneurs and small business in economic growth and job creation there is increased investment in small business, self- employment and entrepreneurship training programmes. Entrepreneurial small businesses are seen by governments and policy makers as a way of generating income, creating jobs, utilizing local resources, and promoting balance development. They are also seen as a seed bed for new initiatives and innovations, and a mechanism to redistribute wealth and opportunity within the local community. Moreover the variety of different, but often essential, services and products that such businesses provide underlines their valuable role in our everyday life.

There are a variety of terms to describe a small business; they include: micro- enterprise, income generating activity, small-scale enterprise, cottage industry, and small and medium scale enterprise, to name but a few. Researchers, policy makers, and trainers all have their own definitions depending on the economic environment, culture or their government’s legal definition. The “small business spectrum” varies from micro enterprises employing only one person or part-time family members (Levitsky, 1989), to the suggestion that for most researchers and trainers a “small business is generally considered to employ no more than 500 persons and to have sales less than US$ 20 millions” (d’ Amboise & Muldowney, 1988).

Similarly there is an unresolved debate as to how to define entrepreneurship, or identify the key characteristics of an entrepreneur (Chell, 1991). This diversity of terms and definitions can be the cause of much confusion for trainers trying to apply or adapt different small business training materials to the particular needs of an individual entrepreneur. But for the purposes of this article an entrepreneur is “someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a small business or small-scale enterprise ” .

This article reviews the different models of enterprise training, identifies the range of institutions providing such training, and examines the factors that influence the design of these programmes. The article concludes by suggesting that enterprise trainers will have to be more innovative and responsive if they are to design programmes that are both clearly targetted, cost-effective, and appropriate to the local culture. The trend could therefore be for more customized personal training programmes geared to the specific business needs of an individual entrepreneur.

2. MODELS OF SMALL BUSINESS TRAINING

There is no universally accepted model of small business training, and there are a variety of different approaches and methodologies. In general these training programmes are designed to either motivate potential entrepreneurs, change attitudes towards entrepreneurship; or to provide entrepreneurs with key “missing ingredients” (e.g. skills, self-confidence, or a viable business plan) whose ommission act as a barrier or constraint to business success.

Small business training courses, or Enterprise Development Programmes, as they are sometimes called, either focus on these issues individually or attempt to integrate them together in a comprehensive package. Programmes are therefore designed, either separately or inclusively, to: 1) promote business awareness and an enterprise culture; 2) develop entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial traits; 3) teach business management skills or technical competencies; and 4) help develop a viable business plan and provide counselling, advice or assistance.

2.1 Tbe Promotion of Business Awareness and an Enterprise Culture.

This approach uses awareness training to encourage groups or individuals, hitherto suspicious or unaware of the value of entrepreneurial small businesses, to appreciate and understand the benefits’ of becoming involved in income generating activities or running their own business. The objective is to raise awareness, overcome cultural inhibitions, and generally promote an entrepreneurial culture.

As Alan Gibb suggests this training is geared towards inculcating a set of values, attitudes and beliefs which reinforces aspirations towards self-reliance and independent economic and social effort. He proposes that this can be achieved by generating positive images of entrepreneurship by using successful role models, developing entrepreneurial attributes appropriate to the local culture and community, familiarizing the participants with the small business sector and the managerial process, and accessing local business networks (Gibb, 1987).

2.2 The Creation of Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Attributes

This is commonly associated with Achievement Motivation Training (AMT), and can be defined as classroom activities specifically designed to develop entrepreneurial attitudes. Such training is based on the belief that entrepreneurial attributes can be identified in an individual trainee, developed and encouraged. The theoretical basis for AMT programmes is David McClelland’s research in the 1960s which suggested that entrepreneurial behaviour is associated with a high N. Ach measure, which gives some indication of need to achieve (McClelland and Winter 1969).

McClelland’s original work in identifying the need for achievement as a dominant motive fostering economic development led to the establishment of a range of AMT programmes in many Third World countries. In India, for instance, these included the Entrepreneurial Motivation Training Centres in Assam and the Entrepreneurship

Development Institute in Gujarat. Debate as to the universal applicability of AMT programmes also generated a body of research into the effectiveness and cross cultural applicability of this approach in India, Malawi and Ecuador. This research by McClelland and McBer Associates resulted in the identification of the key Personal Entrepreneurial Characteristics (PECs) that were most useful for detecting and strengthening entrepreneurial potential. These PECs included initiative, persistence, risk taking, efficiency, concern for quality, degree of commitment, etc.

AMT programmes help identify and develop entrepreneurial traits (or PEC’s) within a potential entrepreneur by creating personal awareness, generating self-confidence, establishing personal goals, and designing strategies with which to achieve them. AMT programmes are commonly built around creativity exercises, group discussions, questionnaires, and self-assessment exercises (e.g. the ring toss test). These programmes have been criticised for being based on inconclusive research, and inherently selective. They are seen as being culturally inappropriate as they are based on western perceptions of individuality and entrepreneurship, and for not being demonstrably m.ore cost-effective in producing entrepreneurs than other types of small business training (Harper, 1989; Romijn, 1989).

2.3 Technical or Managerial Skills Training

However useful AMT programmes may be in encouraging potential entrepreneurs they can only be seen as a precursor to basic skills training. As a result small business trainers are increasingly integrating entrepreneurial training with technical education and management training.

The teaching of small business management skills such as book-keeping, costing, pricing, marketing and selling is commonly done though class based sessions, lectures, problem-based exercises and case studies, videos and interactive computer programmes. There is also a wide range of training materials and textbooks to support such lessons; for example, the IL0 sponsored “Improve Your Business” series, or distance learning packages such as the UK’s Open University “Small Business Programme” with 24 modules of tapes and videos. In the United States, the Ohio

State University’s Program for Acquiring Competence in Entrepreneurship; (PACE) has an eighteen competency modular programme which includes material on developing such skills as “Dealing with Legal Issues”, “Managing Customer Credit” and “Protecting the Business”.

There is a growing recognition of the need to incorporate entrepreneurship and small business training into technical and vocational courses offered by local technical colleges or specialist development agencies and NGOs. Agencies such as the Intermediate Technology Development Group, CARE, or Technoserve have a well established expertise in incorporating self-employment with skills training in such fields as sewing, welding, carpentry, and horticulture. This depth of experience is reflected in the number of training manuals and reference books published by Intermediate Technology Publications in London.

However efforts to incorporate and embed enterprise training in technical courses have proved to be problematic. This is partly because of staff resistance and over-stretched timetables, but also the shortage of skilled staff and training materials, and the lack of a national curriculum and support at a policy level. The Commonwealth Secretariat in recognition of these difficulties commissioned research in this area, and consequently published “Designing Entrepreneurial Skills Development Programmes; A Resource Book for Technical and Vocational Institutions”. This provides a step by step guide to the process of adding entrepreneurship programmes to technical college curricula, and how best to marry entrepreneurial skills with technical training (Rao, 1990). Similarly the Colombo Plan Staff College based in Manila has run a series of regional workshops for TVE teachers in Entrepreneurial Development throughout the Asia-Pacific region designed to change the attitude of policy makers and encourage the introduction of new programmes in local Technical Colleges

2.4 Business Plan Development

This action learning approach is built around the process of planning, starting and running a viable business, in particular helping entrepreneurs to prepare their own business plans or strategies for growth. The business planning process ensures that

entrepreneurs use market research, creativity exercises and opportunity assessment measures to plan their business and assess the demand for their product or service in the local market. The business plan also includes detailed cash flow forecasts, market projections, and operational strategies. The key to the success of this training approach is that the plan must be prepared by the trainees themselves and not by outside specialists.

Training courses built around the business plan are increasingly the norm, instead of merely functional skills based programmes. Virtually all the training offered by the more than 300 local Enterprise Agencies and 80 regional Training and Enterprise Councils in the UK use the business plan preparation approach. Trainees can also attend specialist lectures, participate in case-study or problem-based exercises, have individual counselling sessions, and can use workbooks such as “The Business Plan Workbook” (Barrow, 1992). A key aspect of this approach is that the trainer/facilitator helps to link the potential entrepreneur into a network of contacts, customers, banks, and other support services.

The personalized nature of this approach is reinforced by individual counselling sessions and mentoring. The role of the small business trainer as facilitator and counsellor is one that is receiving greater attention. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) based in Berlin has published guides to competencies for small business trainers and counsellors. In the United States there are specialist academic qualifications for business counsellors; while in the UK a professional body, the Institute of Business Counsellors, was established, and business development agencies like Business in the Community sponsor specialist training for business counsellors.

In general the move towards action learning, business planning and individual counselling reflects a shift in emphasis from what Gibb described as “traditional” classroom based training to a more “entrepreneurial” process-based approach (Gibb, 1990). However, the critics of this approach are concerned at its inherent selectivity and elitism, and question the appropriateness of the length, scheduling and content of such programmes (Curran and Stanworth, 1989). They also question the cost of the individual counselling needed to meet the needs of each participant, and the lack of

evidence justifying its high per unit costs, particularly in those programmes offering start-up training for inexperienced potential entrepreneurs or self-employed craftsmen with an uncertain future.

Faced with this criticism, and as a result of a growing demand from entrepreneurial owner-managers, there is pressure to establish programmes geared specifically to the needs of “growth businesses” which have an established track record and have more chance of success. As a result a number of European business schools, including Bocconi, Cranfield, and Lyons, have introduced Business Growth Programmes for entreprenurial owner-managers or those running established family businesses. Such programmes focus on the strategic and managerial issues that help entrepreneurs move their business through the “bottleneck” from a small to a medium-sized operation. The motivation behind these programmes is to help the entrepreneur/owner to overcome the difficulties arising from their failure to adapt and delegate, or change their management styles and strategies to meet the demands of an expanding business. Business Growth Programmes take the participants through the various stages of growth, help them undertake in-depth analysis of their own business and a review of their strategic options, and support them in the preparation of a three year business plan for growth.

Although these four different approaches to small business training have been reviewed separately they are commonly amalgamated into an integrated Enterprise Development Programme. However the current trend is to target the awareness and AMT programmes on disadvantaged or special-needs groups, whilst the more selective skills training and business planning programmes are geared to the needs of entrepreneurs with potential and ability.

3. INSTITUTIONS AND AGENCIES

There is an immense range of institutions and agencies offering small business training. These include: academic institutions, technological colleges, schools, enterprise agencies and NGOs or community development agencies.

3.1 Universities

Universities around the world now include entrepreneurship and small business subjects in their degree courses. In the United States the number of such degree courses doubled between 1980 and 1990; in 1989 there were 93 Professors of Entrepreneurship and 39 Research Centres (Plaschka and Welsch, 1990). The pattern has been repeated elsewhere. In the UK most universities offer small businesses courses, and for instance, Stirling University offers an MSc Degree in Entrepreneurship, and the Cranfield School of Management MBA Degree includes eight small business electives. Since 1985 Cranfield has also run a Graduate Enterprise Programme for recent graduates who intend to start their own business.

However, the research by Plaschka and Welsch in the United States has highlighted the difficulties of marrying academic education to the practical training needs of entrepreneurs. There is criticism that university staff are too rooted in theoretical or quantitative research to be able to design relevant courses appropriate to the practical needs of the small business sector. Vice versa Universities are suspicious of entrepreneurship and small business as an academic subject, because of its lack of a theoretical base, the relatively uncritical nature of its research, and the lack of experienced, qualified academic staff in the field. There is also the concern that business school faculty historically have a bias towards the organizational and managerial needs of large corporations which is reflected in staff appointments and research financing (Plaschka & Welsch, 1990)

To counter this trend a number of universities have established specialist research centres, for example Baylor and Babson in the United States; Cranfield, Durham, Kingston and Stirling in the UK; the Witwatersrand’s Centre for Developing Business in Johannesburg; the Entrepreneurship Development Centre of the Nanyang Technology University in Singapore; and the University of the Philippines Institute for Small Scale Industry in Manila. Researchers have also established associations and research networks, such as the Japanese Association for Small Business Studies or the European Foundation for Entrepreneurial Research.

3.2 Technical Colleges

Technical colleges, community colleges and vocational education institutions provide many different types of small business training. These include: intensive competency based training that links self-,employment with technical skills (e.g.. the Project Case Work approach to technician training offered at Lopburi Technical Institute, Thailand); specialist short courses for a clearly defined target group (e.g.. Vancouver Community College’s course for self-employed clowns and actors); modular or sandwich courses that are component parts of national vocational qualifications (e.g.. the BTEC Certificates in the UK).

Other programmes are designed as an integral part of government initiatives to train the unemployed, for example, Ivoerksoetterydelsem in Denmark. This scheme was established in 1985 to help the young unemployed to develop their self-employment skills through special courses offered at local technical and commercial colleges. In Japan the government has sponsored adult enterprise training through the Small Business Corporation which has six Small Business Colleges located throughout the country. International technology programmes also exist such as those offered by the Asia Institute of Technology in Bangkok or Technonet Asia in Singapore which are engaged in training and the transfer of enterprise-related technical knowledge throughout South East Asia.

The other area of rapid expansion has been training for high-tech entrepreneurs, who are commonly involved in running computer, electronics or bio-technology companies. Many of these programmes are part of an integrated package of training and research that links technical colleges with a local industrial or science park. In India, for example, the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board was established in 1982 to encourage high-tech entrepreneurs and promote contact with local technical colleges and universities. This in turn led to the development of close ties between these institutions and the Science and Technology Entrepreneur’s Parks (STEPS), which were established in each state as a seed bed for high-tech entrepreneurs.

3.3 Schools

Enterprise training is an increasingly accepted part of the school curriculum in such different countries as Malaysia, the UK and the United States; either as a stand alone subject or integrated with economics, mathematics, or liberal studies courses. In Malaysia the Life-long Entrepreneurship Education Model invisages entrepreneurship education to be imbedded at an early age in the national curriculum. In the UK the Durham University Business School has published an imaginative and practical set of enterprise training materials for use with fourteen to sixteen year olds in secondary schools.

Loucks in a detailed review of enterprise education in US schools describes how at the primary level it consists of courses designed to raise pupils’ awareness of the market economy, the role of small business in the economy and simple business simulation exercises. At the secondary level there are more experimental and practical courses in owning and operating a small business, or running school based businesses (e.g. school shops, photocopying services, etc.). There is also the Junior Achievement Programme which is a national programme that is run in conjunction with local entrepreneurs to help groups of school children start and run their own businesses (Loucks, 1988).

3.4 NGOs and Community Development Agencies.

The growing role of non-profit agencies, non-government organisations (NGO) and development agencies in promoting sustainable economic development has meant that an increasing number of agencies are involved in running training courses for income generating projects and micro-enterpreneurs. In the developing world these include both international agencies (e.g. CARE or Action Aid) and a wide range of local NGOs. Many of these local agencies have become leading practitioners in the field, for example, BRAC and the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, Triple Trust and FEED in South Africa, Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka and Carvajal Foundation in Colombia and ACCION throughout Latin America. While in the industrialised world national programmes such as the Foundation for Enterprise Development in Hungary, the

Princes Trust in the UK, and HETADI in Hawaii exist to promote entT;e~#&@hip in the local community.

The trend is for these institutions to sponsor programmes that have are geared to the needs of a clearly identifiable group. Thus, for exa range of programmes offered by NGOs and international agencies to train women entrepreneurs. These include: international programmes (e.g.. the Commonwealth’s Entrepreneurial Skills for Young Women Programme); courses for women in the formal business sector (e.g. the New Enterprising Women Programme in Karachi); or community based training programmes (e.g. BACAWA’s Programme for solo mother’s and ex-prostitutes in Dar es Salaam). A similar diversity of programmes can be found even for such a disadvantaged group as refugees. These include long-term UNHCR sponsored programmes in Afghanistan or Thailand, emergency programmes such as the Quick Impact Projects Programmes (QIP) for returning refugees in Nicaragua, or the Refugee Enterprise Development Projects established in the refugee camps of Somalia.

There has also been heavy investment by agencies to develop entrepreneurship in rural communities. There has been dramatic growth in the developing world in non-farm enterprise programmes such as those sponsored in India by the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD). These help encourage rural labour to shift away from their dependency on subsistence seasonal farming to year round cash based economic activities (e.g. food processing, equipment maintenance, weaving, blacksmithying). In Europe, motivated by the European Community and the Common Agricultural Policy, the focus is on giving farmers the skills to help them diversify from farming, and help them make more profitable use of land, buildings and capital. They are encouraged to start farm-based businesses such riding schools or ice cream making, or to turn unused buildings into mini industrial estates. To promote this in Britain the National Farmer’s Union has sponsored the Venture Cash Programme to provide specialist non-farm enterprise training to British farmers.

But unfortunately the evidence suggests that apart from some specialist agencies, many NGOs, aid agencies, or charities are ill equipped to be involved in enterprise development work (Hailey & Westborg, 1991). Few of their staff have any business experience and many harbour anti-business sentiments. They have ideological concerns

at supporting individualistic profit-orientated enterprises which they see as conflicting with the socially-oriented objectives of their development work. Many NGOs therefore see enterprise development as an extension of their welfare work, geared towards poverty alleviation or employment generation, rather than promoting individual entrepreneurs or creating profitable businesses. Moreover, recent research by Robinson which evaluated the impact and effectiveness of NGOs involved in skills training and other enterprise development activities for the rural poor suggests that the evidence as to whether NGOs involved in enterprise development have a comparative advantage over government departments or other development agencies is weak and patchy. However, he did conclude that given appropriate resources and strategic support NGOs could have a major role to play in training and promoting micro- entrepreneurs in the developing world (Robinson, 1992).

4. FACTORS INFLUENCING PROGRAMME DESIGN

Apart from the confusion caused by the uncertainty as to how best to define a small business described at the beginning of this article a number of other factors influence programme design. Experience suggests that small business training can only be effective if it is clearly targeted on a particular group of participants (women, school leavers, etc.) or type of small business. Also that clear selection criteria must be established, and training objectives clearly and concisely defined.

Other issues influencing the effectiveness of small business training include the structure and culture of the training institution, the character of the trainers themselves and their willingness to measure the long-term benefits of their training. For example, one of the first major evaluations of small business programmes in the developing world, the USAID funded PISCES study, suggested that successful programmes were characterised by having adapted to the needs of those they served and adjusting to the level of skills and knowledge of the local community (Ashe, 1981). Later studies reflect similar findings. Harper identified four characteristics common to successful programmes: 1) none of the programmes was run by a government institution; 2) minimal use was made of “foreign” experts and maximum use of local staff; 3) the programmes stayed small and resisted the temptation to grow larger; 4) the people

who ran the programme shared many of the features, culture and experience of the entrepreneurs they were trying to help (Harper, 1987).

A study by Manu and Gibb of over fifty different programmes in thirty different countries suggested that the most effective programmes were the ones “closest to small- scale enterprises with respect to the people, structures and processes employed” (Manu & Gibb, 1990). This study highlighted the importance of the need to employ trainers who could identify and communicate with local entrepreneurs, and who had an understanding of the local small business community and market environment.

Gibb also argues that in order to best bridge the gap between trainer and entrepreneur, trainers need to adopt an “entrepreneurial” approach to training rather than the traditional “conventional” approach. He argues that small business trainers in the past had been ill equipped to meet the needs of most entrepreneurs and should concentrate on: 1). delivery rather than content; 2). being facilitators rather than experts handing down knowledge; 3). emphasising practice not theory, “know how” and “know who”, rather than “know that”; 4). ensuring that mistakes are not looked down upon, but learnt from instead; and 5). adopting a multidisciplinary approach rather than a functional focus (Gibb, 1990).

In the past training programmes have suffered because of attempts to monitor and evaluate them have focused on measuring inputs (resources used, staff involved, or range of programmes offered), or merely assessing participants response to the quality and applicability of the training (post-course evaluation forms, interviews, etc.). These measures have been a useful indicator for funders as to how their funds were spent, and as a tool with which to improve the quality and enjoyment of existing programmes.

However, faced with increasing questions as to the cost-effectiveness of small business training in the 1980s efforts have been made to measure the output and long term benefits of such training. These evaluation exercises commonly measure the number of businesses started after the training, their survival rate, and economic indicators like the profits and sales generated, the number of jobs created or preserved. Complex

equations and cost benefit analysis have been used to measure real returns on training, their per participant costs, and their long-term economic benefits.

The experience of many micro-enterprise programmes in Latin America suggest that integrated programmes which provide both credit, training and technical assistance have little long term impact, and that they should focus instead on removing major “bottle-necks” to growth, or provide the key “missing ingredient” (commonly finance or credit). Faced with this evidence the minimalist perspective has gained a degree of credence. Judith Tendler was an early advocate of minimalist programmes “which operate in a narrow focus, supplyin, * credit and no other form of assistance”. Her research suggests that fully integrated programmes, which include small business training, have higher unit costs and place excessive demands on the managerial skills of local staff, and as a consequence rarely succeed in meeting the needs of a large number of clients (Tendler, 1989).

For similar reasons Harper argues that much small business training has a limited role to play in developing micro-enterprises. In particular he singles out Achievement Motivation Training or programmes intended to develop “entrepreneurial motivation or behaviour” as being the least valuable form of training. Partly because there are already sufficient entrepreneurs with the potential and motivation to pursue their business ambitions, and partly because the funds used would have more impact if they were invested in a credit programme that provided much needed finance to the local business community (Harper, 1989). However, these conclusions were based on research into training programmes designed for entrepreneurs running micro-enterprises in the informal sector, and that more recent research by Harper suggests that such programmes can be relatively cost-effective if they are geared to the needs of local entrepreneurs who run larger formal sector businesses .

Despite these qualifications advocates of the “minimalist” perspective have played an important role questioning long held beliefs as to the value of training, and articulating concern at the growth of, what they refer to as, “trainingism”. A term used to describe the growth in the number of small business training courses, and an exaggerated belief in their value to entrepreneurs as a panacea to solve all ills.

This debate about the value and cost-effectiveness of small business training programmes has its roots in aid funded programmes in the developing world. However, throughout the industrialized world enterprise trainers are also faced with funding cutbacks, and having to justify the value of their programmes to secure future funding. Typical of their response are the longitudinal evaluation surveys undertaken by Robert Brown into the value of the Graduate Enterprise Programme in Britain. This study measured the total cost of the programme between 1985 and 1990 (f970,000), against the number of jobs created (531) and cumulative profits generated (f 1.3m) (Brown, 1992).

With the growing pressure to ensure that small business training is cost effective and sustainable, trainers are having to spend more time, and therefore money, following up trainees, and devising longitudinal studies to assess the cost-benefit of their training. This in turn has provoked a debate as to how best to measure the wider social benefits of such training. The social benefits of enterprise training include: changing attitudes and empowering individual entrepreneurs, creating an enterprise culture which fosters greater self-sufficiency and economic autonomy, and helping to establish viable businesses that provide goods and services to local communities. Such social cost benefit analysis is still in its infancy, but it can be expected that small business trainers will soon include social auditing as a tool with which to justify the long term benefits of their programmes.

In the future because of these concerns more emphasis will be placed on identifying and understanding the characteristics of effective training programmes. Research by Loucks suggests the key characteristics of any successful small business training programme were that they should: 1) have precise objectives and be focused on a clearly identifiable target group; 2) be driven by clients and the markets, not by the trainers or the agency; 3) have effective monitoring and evaluation procedures that measure outputs and assess long-term cost benefits; and 4) be based on the business planning process whereby “prospective entrepreneurs are subjected to the discipline of collecting, analysing, presenting, defending and promoting all aspects of what is necessary to start and operate the business“ (Loucks 1988).

5. CONCLUSION

Based on the growing body of research evidence, as well as the practical experience of enterprise developers, it is expected that small business programmes will become more selective and geared to the needs of specific target groups; and for the formal training components to be more compact and focused, with more emphasis instead on action learning, attachments, business planning, and on-going counselling support. Trainers will have to be more results orientated, concerned about their cost-effectiveness and the sustainability of their programmes. Furthermore, like any other service provider, they will have to become more innovative and responsive to the needs of their customers (who in the past were called trainees) by offering flexible schedules, appropriate locations, and a menu of different methodologies and delivery mechanisms.

As a consequence small business trainers in the future will not just be found in colleges and enterprise agencies but also in a variety of unexpected institutions: schools, rehabilitation hospitals, job centres, banks, charities, development agencies, and local community centres. Moreover, one of the major challenge for the next generation of trainers will be to design courses and materials appropriate to the needs of ex- communist countries of Eastern Europe, Russia, and the socialist economies of Angola, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, and China.

The trend will be for selective, customized, and even personal training programmes designed to meet the needs of individual entrepreneurs. Enterprise awareness training will continue to be of value for introducing the basic concepts, as well as motivating and raising awareness amongst disadvantaged or special-needs groups; while process- based skills training and business planning, supported by on-going counselling, will be focused on entrepreneurs with growth potential.

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REFERENCES

Ashe, J. 1981, PISCES Study, USAID, Washington DC.

Barrow, C. et al., 1992, The Business Plan Workbook, Kogan Page, London.

Brown, R. 1992, “The Graduate Enterprise Programme: Has It Been Worthwhile?“, paper given to Small F irms Conference, Southampton.

Chell, E. 1991, The Entrepreneurial Personality, Routledge, London.

Cur-ran J. & Stanworth, J, 1988, “Education and Training for Enterprise”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 7(2).

d’Amboise, G . Br Mu ldowney, M , 1988, “Management Theory for Small Business”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 13(2).

G ibb, A, 1990, “Training the Trainers for Small Business”, Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 14(l).

G ibb, A, 1987, “Enterprise Culture - Its meaning and implications for education and training”, Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 1 l(2).

Hailey, J. & Westbor g, J, 199 1, A New Role for Development Agencies: NGOs and Enterprise Development, Crantield Working Paper No. 49, Cranfield School of Management .

Harper, M , 1989, “Training and Technical Assistance for M icro-enterprises”, in J. Levitsky, M icro-enterprises in Developing Countries, Intermediate Technology Publications, London.

Harper, M , 1987, “Small-scale Enterprise Development”, Crown Agents Review, Vol. 3.

Levitsky, J, 1989, Micro-enterprises in Developing Countries, Intermediate Technology Publications, London.

Lou&s, K, 1988, Training Entrepreneurs for Small Business Creation, ILO, Geneva.

Manu, G. & Gibb, A, 1990, “The Design of Extension and Related Support Services for Small-scale Enterprise”, International Small Business Journal, Vol, 8(3).

McClelland, D. & Winter, G, 1971, Motivating Economic Achievement, Free Press, New York.

Plaschka, G. & Welsch, H, 1990, “Emerging Structures in Entrepreneurship Education”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 14(3)

Rao, T. et al., 1990, Designing Entrepreneurial Skills Development Programmes: Resource Book for Technical and Vocational Institutions, HRDG, Commonwealth Secretariat, London.

Robinson, M, 1992, “NGOs and rural poverty alleviation”, in MEdwards & D. Hulme, Making a Difference: NGOs and Development in a Changing World, Earthscan, London.

Romijn, H, 1989, “Entrepreneurship Training for Small Business in Developing Countries”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 24(8).

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Tendler, J, 1989, “Whatever Happened to Poverty Alleviation?“, in J. Levitsky, Micro-enterprises in Developing Countries, Intermediate Technology Publications, London.

CRANFIELD SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT WORKING PAPER SERIES

List No 5, 1991

SWP l/91 Colin Barrow “How Green are Small Companies? A Survey by Cranfield School of Management”

SWP 2/91 Graham Clark “Strategies for Product and Customer Support - A Research Report”

SWP 3/91 David Parker “Tackling Tax Evasion in the UK”

SWP 4191 John McGee and Susan Segal-Horn “Strategic Space and Industry Dynamics: The Implications for International Marketing Strategy”

SWP 5/91 Chris Brewster “Culture: The International Dimension”

SWP 6191 Chris Brewster and Helen Peck “Management Changes in China and Eastern Europe: Dubious Parallels”

SWP 7191 Keith Ward, Sri Srikanthan, Richard Neal “Marketing Investment Analysis: The Critical Success Factors for Financially Evaluation and Effectively Controlling Marketing Investment Decisions. ”

SWP 8191 Andy Bytheway and Bernard Dyer “Electronic Data Interchange: Persuading Senior Management”

SWP 9191 Alan Warr “Strategic Opportunities and Information Systems Management’

SWP 10191 Alan Warr “Bridging the Gap - Implementing Information Systems Strategies”

SWP 11/91 Alan Warr “Mapping the Applications Portfolio onto the Projects Portfolio”

SWP 12/91 Siobhan Alderson & Andrew Kakabadse “The Top Executive Competencies Survey - A Literature Review”

SWP 13/91 Mike Sweeney “Determining a Technology Strategy for Competitive Advantage”

SWP 14/91 Len Holden and Helen Peck “Bulgaria, Perestroika, Glasnost and Mlnonomont”

SWP 15/91 Robert Brown & Andy Burnett “Do we need Enterprising Graduates?”

SWP 16/91 Ian Oram & Glare Tagg “Using an IS Strategic Model to give a Strategy for Teaching IS”

SWP 17191 Len Holden “Employee Communications in Europe”

SWP 18/91 Susan Segal-Horn “The Globalisation of Service Industries’

SWP 19191 David Ballantyne “Coming to Grips with Service Intangibles, using Quality Management Techniques”

SWP 20/91 Colin Armistead “Resource Productivity in the Services Sector”

SWP 21191 David Parker & John Burton “Rolling back the State? : UK Tax and Government Spending Changes in the 1980s”

SWP 22191 Simon Knox & David Walker “Involvement, Cognitive Structures and Brand Loyalty: The Empirical Foundations for a Unifying Theory”

SWP 23191 David Ballantyne “Internal Marketing, Collaboration and Motivation in Service Quality Management”

SWP 24191 Chris Brewster “Starting again: Industrial Relations in Czechoslovakia”

SWP 25191 Cliff Bowman & Gerry Johnson “Surfacing Managerial Patterns of Competitive Strategy: Interventions in Strategy Debates”

SWP 26/9 1 Malcolm Harper “Cooperatives and Other Group Enterprises: What are the Critical Factors for Success? A Survey of Informed Opinion.”

SWP 2719 1 Mike Sweeney “The Strategic Management of Manufacturing: From Waste to Haste”

SWP 28191 Mike Sweeney “How to Achieve Competitive Edge by Simultaneous Process Engineering”

SWP 29191 Mike Sweeney “Towards a Unified Theory of Strategic Manufacturing Management”

SWP 30191 David Ballantyne, Martin Christopher & Adrian Payne “The Pathology of Company-Wide Quality Initiatives: Seven Prescriptions for Failure”

SWP 3 l/9 1 Martin Christopher, Adrian Payne & David Ballantyne “Relationship Marketing: Bringing Quality, Customer Service and Marketing Together”

SWP 32191 Mike Fleming & Joe Nellis “The Development of Standardised Indices for Measuring House Price Inflation Incorporating Physical and Locational Characteristics”

SWP 33/91 Cliff Bowman “Charting Competitive Strategy”

SWP 34/91 Roland Calori, Gerry Johnson & Philippe Samin “French and British Top Managers’ Understanding of the Structure and the Dynamics of their Industries: A Cognitive Analysis and Comparison”

SWP 35191 Michael Sweeney “Manufacturing-Led Competitiveness: Use Maths not Myths”

SWP 36191 Robert Brown, Andrew Norton & Bill O’Rourke “Case Study - Beverley plc”

SWP 37/91 Malcolm Harper &John Hailey “Management Development for Enterprise Promotion: Non-Governmental Organisations and the Development of Income Generating Enterprise”

SWP 38191 Shaun Tyson & Noeleen Doherty “The Redundant Executive: Personality and the Job Change Experience”

SWP 39191 Yochanan Altman “On Managing Volunteers - Absence of Monetary Compensation and its Implication on Managing Voluntary Organisations: The Issues of Motivation, Control and Organisational Structure.”

SWP 40/91 David Parker “Privatisation Ten Years On: A Critical Analysis of its Rationale and Results.”

SWP 41/91 Ian Oram “Implications of an IS Strategic Model for IS Development”

SWP 4219 1 Shaun Tyson ” 1992: An Investigation of Strategies for Management Development”

SWP 43/91 Malcolm McDonald “The Changing Face of Marketing”

SWP 44191 Malcolm McDonald “Teaching by Degrees”

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SWP 45191 Malcolm McDonald & John Leppard “Marketing Planning and Corporate Culture”

SWP 46191 Colin Barrow & Andy Burnett “The Single Market and Small Growing Companies in the UK: A Survey by Cranfield School of Management”

SWP 47191 Colin Barrow “Key Staff Recruitment in Small Firms in the UK: A Survey by Cranfield School of Management *

SWP 48191 Yochanan Altman “Organisational Consultancy and Clinical Psychology - The Meeting of Two Worlds”

SWP 49191 John Hailey & Jon Westborg “A New Role for Development Agencies: Non-Government Organisations and Enterprise Development”

SWP 50191 Paul Bums & Christine Choisne “The Attitudes of Small and Medium-Sized Companies in Britain and France to the Business Environment in the First Half of 1991”

SWP 5 l/9 1 Paul Bums “The European Market”

SWP 5219 1 Shailendra Vyakamam “The Mismatch between Academic and Practitioner Constructs of Ethics : Implications for Business Schools”

SWP 53191 Cliff Bowman “Managerial Perceptions of Porter’s Generic Strategies”

SWP 54191 Adrian Payne and Flemming Poufelt “Increasing the Effectiveness of Mergers and Acquisitions within the Management Consulting Industry”

SWP 55191 John Hailey “The Small Business Sector in Developing Economies”

SWP 56/91 Colin Armistead & Graham Clark “Capacity Management in Services and the Influence on Quality and Productivity Performance”

SWP 57/91 Colin New “World Class Manufacturing versus Strategic Trade Offs ”

SWP 58/91 Colin Armistead & John Mapes “Supply Networks and the Changing Role of Operations Managers”

SWP 59191 Brett Collins & Adrian Payne “Internal Services Marketing”

SWP 60/91 Andrew Myers, Mairi Bryce & Andrew Kakabadse “Business Success and 1992: The Need for Effective Top Teams”

SWP 6 l/9 1 Malcolm McDonald “Strategic Marketing Planning: A State of the Art Review”

SWP 62/91 Malcolm McDonald “Excellent Selling can Seriously Damage a Company‘s Health”

SWP 63/91 Graham Clark & Colin Armistead “After Sales Support Strategy: A Research Agenda”

SWP 64191 Graham Clark & Colin Armistead “Barriers to Service Quality: The Capacity, Quality, Productivity Balance”

SWP 6519 1 Ariane Hegewisch “European Comparisons in Rewards Policies: The Findings of the First Price WaterhouselCrantield Survey”

SWP 66/91 Andy Bailey & Gerry Johnson “Perspectives of the Process of Strategic Decision-Making”

SWP 67191 Collin Randlesome “East German Managers - From Karl Marx to Adam Smith?”

SWP 68/91 Paul Bums & Christine Choisne “High Performance SMEs: A Two Country Study”

SWP 69191 David Parker “Ownership, Managerial Changes and Performance”

SWP 70191 Graham Elkin (Visiting Fellow) “Socialisation and Executive MBA Programmes”

SWP 71/91 Shai Vyakamam “The New Europe from the Third World”

SWP 72/91 John Hailey “Small Business Development in the Developing World: An Overview of Contemporary Issues in Enterprise Development”

SWP 73/91 Paul Bums “Training Within Small Firms”

SWP 74191 Paul Bums & Christine Choisne “High Performance SMEs in Britain and France: Strategies and Structures”

SWP 75191 Robert Brown et al “UK Tax Implications for the Small Business”

SCHOOL WORKING PAPERS LIST NO 6,1992

SWP l/92 Mike Sweeney “How to perform simultaneous process engineering *

SWP 2192 Paul Bums “The Management of General Practice”

SWP 3192 Paul Bums “Management in General Practice: A Selection of Articles”

SWP 4192 Simon Knox & David Walker “Consumer involvement with grocery brands”

SWP 5192 Deborah Helman and Adrian Payne “Internal marketing: myth versus reality?”

SWP 6192 Leslie de Chematony and Simon Knox “Brand price recall and the implications for pricing research”

SWP 7192 Shai Vyakamam “Social Responsibility in the UK Top 100 Companies”

SWP 8192 Susan Baker, Dr Simon Knox and Dr Leslie de Chematony “Product Attributes and Personal Values: A Review of Means-End Theory and Consumer Behaviour”

SWP 9192 Mark Jenkins “Making Sense of Markets: A Proposed Research Agenda”

SWP lo/92 Michael T Sweeney and Ian Oram “Information Technology for Management Education: The Benefits and Barriers”

SWP 1 l/92 Keith E Thompson (Silsoe College) “International Competitiveness and British Industry post-1992. With Special Reference to the Food Industry”

SWP 12/92 Keith Thompson (Silsoe College) “The Response of British Supermarket Companies to the Internationalisation of the Retail Grocery Industry”

SWP 13192 Richard Kay “The Metaphors of the Voluntary/Non-Profit Sector Organising”

SWP 14192 Robert Brown and Philip Poh “Aniko Jewellers Private Limited - Case Study and Teaching Notes”

SWP 15/92 Mark Jenkins and Gerry Johnson “Representing ‘Managerial Cognition: The Case for an Integrated Approach”

SWP 16192 Paul Bums “Training across Europe: A Survey of Small and Medium-Sized Companies in Five European Countries”

SWP 17/92 Chris Brewster and Henrik Holt Larsen “Human Resource Management in Europe - Evidence from Ten Countries”

SWP 18192 Lawrence Cummings “Customer Demand for ‘Total Logistics Management’ - Myth or Reality?”

SWP 19/92 Ariane Hegewisch and Irene Bruegel “Flexibilisation and Part-time Work in Europe”

SWP 20192 Kevin Daniels and Andrew Guppy “Control, Information Seeking Preference, Occupational Stressors and Psychological Well-being”

SWP 21/92 Kevin Daniels and Andrew Guppy “Stress and Well-Being in British University Staft‘”

SWP 22/92 Colin Armistead and Graham Clark “The Value Chain in Service Operations Strategy”

SWP 23192 David Parker “Nationalisation, Privatisation, and Agency Status within Government: Testing for the Importance of Ownership ”

SWP 24192 John Ward “Assessing and Managing the Risks of IS/IT Investments”

SWP 25192 Robert Brown “Stapleford Park: Case Study and Teaching Notes”

SWP 26/92 Paul Bums &Jean Harrison “Management in General Practice - 2”

SWP 27/92 Paul Bums &Jean Harrison “Management in General Practice - 3”

SWP 28/92 Kevin Daniels, Leslie de Chematony & Gerry Johnson “Theoretical and Methodological Issues concerning Managers’ Mental Models of Competitive Industry Structures”

SWP 29/92 Malcolm Harper and Alison Rieple “Ex-Offenders and Enterprise”

SWP 30/92 Colin Armistead and Graham Clark “Service Quality: The Role of Capacity Management”

SWP 3 l/92 Kevin Daniels and Andrew Guppy “Stress, Social Support and Psychological Well-Being in British Chartered Accountants”

SWP 32/92 Kevin Daniels and Andrew Guppy “The Dimensionality and Well-Being Correlates of Work Locus of Control”

SWP 33/92 David Ballantyne, Martin Christopher, Adrian Payne and Moira Clark “The Changing Face of Service Quality Management”

SWP 34192 Chris Brewster “Choosing to Adjust: UK and Swedish Expatriates in Sweden and the UK”

SWP 35192 Robert Brown, with Peter Cook et al “Goldsmiths Fine Foods - Case Study and Teaching Notes”

SWP 36192 Mike Sweeney “Strategic Manufacturing Management: Restructuring Wasteful Production to World Class”

SWP 37192 Andy Bailey & Gerry Johnson “An Integrated Exploration of Strategic Decision-Making”

SWP 38192 Chris Brewster “European Human Resource Management: Reflection of, or Challenge to, the American Concept”

SWP 39192 Ute Hanel, Kurt Volker, Ariane Hegewisch and Chris Brewster “Personnel Management in East Germany”

SWP 40192 Lawrence Cummings “Logistics goes Global - The Role of Providers and Users”

SWP 41 I9 1 Roger Seaton & Martin Cordey-Hayes “Interactive Models of Industrial Technology Transfer: A Process Approach”

SWP 42192 Susan Segal-Horn “The Logic of International Growth for Service Firms”

SWP 43192 Mike Sweeney “Benchmarking for Strategic Manufacturing Management”

SWP 44192 Paul Bums “Financing SMEs in Europe: A Five Country Study”

SWP 45192 Robert Brown “The Graduate Enterprise Programme - Has it been Worthwhile?”

CRANFIELD WORKING PAPERS List No 7, 1993

SWP l/93 John Mapes “The Effect of Limited Production Capacity on Safety Stock Requirements for Periodic Review Inventory Systems”

SWP 2193 Shai Vyakamam & Alison Rieple “Corporate Entrepreneurship: A Review”

SWP 3/93 Cliff Bowman & David Faulkner “Pushing on a String: Uncertain Outcomes from Intended Competitive Strategies”

SWP 4193 Susan Baker & Mark Jenkins “The Role of Values in the Design and Conduct of Management Research: Perspectives on Managerial and Consumer Cognition”

SWP 5193 Kevin Daniels, Leslie de Chematony & Gerry Johnson “Validating a Method for Mapping Managers’ Mental Models of Competitive Industry Structures”

SWP 6193 Kevin Daniels & Andrew Guppy “Occupational Stress, Social Support, Job Control and Psychological Well-Being”

SWP 7193 Colin Fletcher, Ruth Higginbotham and Peter Norris “The Inter-Relationships of Managers’ Work Time and Personal Time”

SWP 8193 Mike Sweeney “A Framework for the Strategic Management of both Service and Manufacturing Operations”

SWP 9193 Colin Arm&ad and Graham Clark “The ‘Coping’ Capacity Management Strategy in Services and the Influence on Quality Performance”

SWP 10193 Ariane Hegewisch “Equal Opportunities Policies and Developments in Human Resource Management: A Comparative European Analysis”

SWP 1 II93 Paula Stanley “Service to the Courts: The Offender’s Perspective”

SWP 12193 Mark Jenkins “Thinking about Growth: A Cognitive Mapping Approach to Understanding Small Business Development”

SWP 13193 Mike Clarke “Metro-Freight: The Automation of Freight Transportation”

SWP 14193 John Hailey “Growing Competitiveness of Corporations from the Developing World: Evidence from the South”

SWP 15193 Noeleen Doherty, Shaun Tyson and Claire Viney “A Positive Policy? Corporate Perspectives on Redundancy and Outplacement”

SWP 16193 Shailendra Vyakamam “Business Plans or Plans for Business”

SWP 17/93 Mark Jenkins, Eric le Cerf & Thomas Cole “Defining the Market: An Exploration of Marketing Managers’ Cognitive Frameworks”

SWP 18/93 John Hailey “Localisation and Expatriation: The Continuing Role of Expatriates in Developing Countries”

SWP 19/93 Kevin Daniels & Andrew Guppy “Reversing the Occupational Stress Process: Some Consequences of Employee Psychological Well-Being”

SWP 20193 Paul Bums, Andrew Myers and Andy Bailey “Cultural Stereotypes and Barriers to the Single Market”

SWP 21193 Terry Lockhart and Andrew Myers “The Social Chapter: Implications for Personnel Managers *

SWP 22/93 Kevin Daniels, Gerry Johnson & Leslie de Chematony “Differences in Cognitive Models of Buyers and Sellers”

SWP 23193 Peter Boey & Richard Saw “Evaluation of Automated Warehousing Policies: Total Systems Approach”

SWP 24193 John Hailey “Training for Entrepreneurs: International Perspectives on the Design of Enterprise Development Programmes”